Trafalgar
by Uherenye
Summary: Tinker Worden was once told that he was useless. Determined to prove himself, he joined the British Royal Navy as a ship's boy. Now his ship, the HMS Temeraire, is headed into battle. Rated T to be safe.


Author's note: Normally there would be a disclaimer here saying that I don't own the characters and such, but the fact is that in this particular fanfic I used only my own original characters. Therefore they are mine and CANNOT be used without permission. However, the plot to this fanfic is completely and utterly inspired by the Bloody Jack books, though the details are mine. The accents of my characters are also taken from the Bloody Jack books, as is most of my research and the setting.

It is not necessary to have read the Bloody Jack books to understand this story; in fact I wrote it for those who haven't. Enjoy and PLEASE review! For now this fic is complete, but if I get plenty of reviews I MIGHT consider adding more.

Trafalgar

_I makes me way through the quiet streets of London. Seeing as I been doing this for the past four years, I knows the way pretty well. The others will be waitin' for me like they always does. I'm the sneakiest of us so I'm the one as always gets the dinner, like. And I'm also the oldest, being 'bout 13 I think. We tries the beggin' but it don't work too well. The nobs is always gettin' and never givin'. Don't never have nothing to share with us street rats, even though they gots more'n enough for themselves. Warn't our fault our parents up and died and left us all alone to wait for the anatomists t' cut up our poor dead bodies so's they can do their experiments. Warn't our fault at all._

_I comes up to the edge of the ditch that we lives in, and then I counts to six, that bein' our signal and all. One 'o the girls comes up and I sees it's Mary. She ain't the oldest of all of us but she's the oldest of the girls, and sometimes she acts like she's our mother I guess. Leastaways she treats me an' the younger boys like we can't take care of ourselves. She don't treat Peter like that, though, he bein' the leader and all. That's really my position by rights but ain't nobody ever said Tinker Worden has it in him to be a leader.  
Right now Mary brushes me dirty hair outa me eyes and says I should put it up. She says that a lot but I likes it this way so I never does. Peter comes up from the ditch where he's been doin' something and asks me what I got for the gang tonight. then I has to tell him. I don't got nothin' 'cause the baker's wife caught me tryin' t' take some bread and she told me if she catches me ever again she's gonna tell the police, which can't happen 'cause them we'd all get 'dopted out and nobody wants that.  
Georgie comes up now and he looks right mad, knowin' we're gonna have to find somewhere else t' steal from now. He knows it ain't my fault 'cause any of us could've gotten found out but he's got hisself a temper and he's gotta take it out on someone. "You bloody useless filth!" he yells, and the filth part is true I think but not the rest. "What use is you, Tink?" he raves, and I just stands there hiding behind me dirty blond hair and hopin' this ain't gonna last too long. "What d'you always get us int' trouble? Alls your can do fer us is get the food, and now y'can't do that neither!" I looks at me bare feet which is sittin' all cold on the hard ground and keeps me mouth shut. "Yer a bloody coward, Tinker Worden!" he shots, referin' t' the fact that I never comes to the territory fights with th' other gangs and th' fact that I didn't take the bread anyways, seeing as it were just some stupid mum what stopped me. He throws up his arms and turns to go back to the ditch.  
I feels me fists clenchin' up and th' anger comin' up inside and then before I can stop it the words comes pourin' out. "You think you can do better then, Georgie?" I yells. "Fine, I'm leaving. I'll get meself on a ship and then you'll see! I'll be the most bravest boy in the whole Royal Navy! In England!" Georgie gives me a laugh like he don't think I can do it and that seals up the deal. I gathers up me belongings, which ain't much more'n me and the rags what're on me back, and I starts to walk away. I walks away and I never looks back. Not yet, anyway._

I smiles as I lays in me berth thinkin' back on the first days I was on this here ship, th' HMS _Temeraire_, and how I got all knocked about tryin' t' get me sea legs. I was sick back then too, bein' green and not used t' the ship and all. But now I'm layin' in the very same pile 'o rope as when I started, seein' as a ship's boy ain't enough of a rankin' t' merit a hammock. Here on the _Temeraire_ we gots ninety-eight guns what are gonna blow them Froggies t' pieces once the battle starts. I ain't never been in battle before but we've done practice runs, like, and I'm a powder monkey for one 'o th' port guns. Which mostly means I got t' run around fetchin' bags 'o powder for the more 'portant ones.

"Tink, we're comin' up on 'em!" I hears, and I whips me head around t' see Tommy, he bein' me best mate aboard this ship and a ship's boy like me. I jumps up all excited 'cause we was on th' blockade duty 'round about western France, just like we always was since I signed on 'bout two years ago, and then we got a message sayin' we was t' join a squardr'n under an Admiral Calder. We been sailin' about for a while and since we started Lor' Nelson has took over. An' now we got th' whole combined Froggie and Spanish fleet pushed up near the Spanish coast, in this place called Trafalgar which I have heard other sailors say is near th' Strait 'o Gibraltar. They say that if we beat the fleets it will be a real hard blow t' Napoleon, so I guess we has t' win.

"What's the news, Tommy?" I asks, getting' all flustered. His face is all red an' flushed from th' hubbub.

"Th' HMS _Achilles_ sent a signal sayin' they discovered a strange fleet!" says Tommy triumphantly. I can tell he don't know exactly what that's s'posed t' mean and I don't know neither, but it's sure t' be a good sign.

"We're gonna be in _battle_!" I shouts gloriously, practically hoppin' up and down. 'Cause this's what I've been waitin' for the whole time, ever since I left th' gang back in London.

"We're gonna be heroes!" Tommy crows, prancin' about and whoopin' his head off.

"We're gonna blow the Froggies t' bits!" I add victoriously. This gets a yell from Tommy an' then a sailor who's been sick curses at us from his hammock and we shuts our mouths, not wantin' the wrath 'o the bo'sun t' come down on us. We goes up on deck and looks about, and sure 'nough there's a bunch 'o ships up ahead, an they ain't flyin' England's colors. We climbs up to the foretop, which is a platform on the foremast - that bein' the one nearest th' front 'o th' ship - what's used when th' foretopmen is changin' the sails. Up here we can escape notice so's we doesn't have t' do as much work and can talk a lot. It's still real early in the mornin' and it bein' October it don't get light none too quick, but there's always people movin' on a ship.

We're soon joined by Joey an' he's got some more news, he has. We dangles our legs over the edge 'o the foretop while he says there's been another signal: Lor' Nelson has ordered that our ships form two columns, which is called the Lee and Weather columns and I thinks they has somethin' t' do with the wind.

Then not two minutes later Joey's about t' go back down when Toby swings on up and there's more news. Nelson's sayin' t' prepare for battle and we've got a whole slew of other commands comin' in from him 'cause he's in charge of our column. All four of us boys scrambles down th' riggin' 'cause we knows it ain't gonna be long 'till we has t' get t' our positions.

It ain't gonna be long, except that there ain't much wind. Even with full sail we're movin' at a crawl. I hardly contains me excitement, but I has to 'cause Lieutenant Smith orders me and th' other boys t' clean up the head some, mainly I'm guessin' 'cause they doesn't want us bouncin' all over the place. We does that and it's borin' and smelly work but we're used to it, sort of. Then Joey and Toby has t' report to Lieutenant Smith but me and Tommy has the forenoon watch, which runs from 'bout 8:00 to noon. Mostly we just stands there at Parade Rest 'cause the Officer 'o th' Watch don't need us, and sometimes we're allowed t' talk.

Finally, almost at th' end of our watch, another signal comes from Lor' Nelson which is this: "England Expects Every Man Will Do His Duty." I looks all merry at Tommy 'cause that means we're goin' in soon and I'll finally get t' prove meself in battle just like I told that Georgie I would.

I don't think it's even a minute before th' next signal comes, which is prolly gonna be the last. "Make All Sail Possible With Safety To Masts." It don't apply to us 'cause we're already on full sail, but it means we're goin' in. For real this time. We hears Toby start beatin' on his drum nearby somewheres and that means we gotta get t' our positions, them bein' powder monkeys on th' port side like I said before.

I races t' gun number one, that bein' th' one I'm chiefly concerned with, and Tommy's at number three. Midshipman Sykes is th' head 'o our division so it's him as does th' actual aimin' most 'o th' time 'cept when there's a lot goin' on which there will be. Me and Tommy, we've got t' get th' fresh bags 'o powder soon as they needs 'em, which is right quick 'cause they load a gun in under ninety seconds.

I looks out and I can see HMS _Victory_, that bein' Nelson's ship, and she's right ahead of us. And right ahead 'o _her_ is a Froggie ship an' her name is _Redoubtable_. I sees th' men on _Victory_ getting' their guns ready an' then there's puff 'o smoke and a boom and I knows th' bow chaser gun on _Victory_ has just fired. It falls just short 'o _Redoubtable_ and I hears the Froggies yellin'. Then _Victory_ pulls up near the port side 'o _Redoubtable_ and I can almost _feel_ th' crash as she gives 'em her broadside, meanin' all the guns on th' starb'rd side're fired. But it ain't all good, 'cause _Redoubtable_'s got some broadsides 'o her own t' give an' give 'em she does.

An' now I can hear th' men screamin' what have been hurt and I ain't so sure 'o meself. I'm thinkin' Georgie was right after all an' I can't stop quiverin' wi' th' terror, 'cause what if I'm about t' die? What if one 'o them cannonballs comes this way an' blasts me poor, young head clean off me shoulders? I doesn't quite know if I believes in Heaven an' all that but what I does know is wherever I'm headed I sure don't wanna be goin' there just yet, 'cause I'm too young and I got so much more t' live for and there's so much I haven't done and oh please Lord don't let me die I knows I ain't always been good what with th' stealin' I did with th' gang but please I jus' did it t' survive and I don' wanna die not yet not yet not yet, oh please let me get through this 'cause I'm too young t' die yet and I knows me thoughts're goin' in circles but I doesn't care 'cause please I don't wanna die…

Amidst all me thoughts I realizes we've pulled up t' th' starb'rd side 'o _Redoubtable_ and _oh Lord…_we're at point-blank range now and the powder bag is grabbed out 'o me senseless hands and someone shoves me in th' directions 'o the powder magazine 'cause they're gonna need more but I can't move I can't move I can't…

There's a huge bang as _Redoubtable_ fires on us. Someone pushes me t' th' deck and I hears somethin' whiz over me head and I know if I'd've been standin' I'd be dead right about now. Then….CRACK! I looks up and me mouth drops open 'cause th' mainmast is on its way down and here comes th' riggin' and th' sails an' some sailors too. And…_oh Lord…no…_there's Tommy an' he's got a bunch 'o blood spattered all over him and it ain't somebody else's, no, it's his own blood 'cause I can see th' big splinter from th' broken mast stickin' outa him and his eyes is all wide an' there's blood an' spit comin' from his mouth and _no this isn't happenin', I doesn't want t' go but I didn't want Tommy t' take me place no I didn't want that please just take me an' let him live not please no _and I runs t' him an' he grabs me arms but I dunno if he's even seein' me and I grabs his shoulders and shakes him but alls I get is some garglin' noises and more starin'. Then he shakes his head like this can't be happenin' and he's right, it can't, but now he's slumped over on top 'o me and I knows he's gone. I can hardly see 'cause there's tears foggin' up me eyes and I knows it ain't exactly manly but nothin' matters now, me best mate's dead and me ship's broken and guns're firin' all 'round and there ain't no way anyone's gonna make it outa this, it bein' what I guess is th' end 'o th' world with th' smoke swirlin' 'round and th' guns firin' and now I sees some Froggies comin' over from _Redoubtable_ an' they've all got cutlasses.

I realizes I've dropped poor Tommy's body and th' tears is makin' stripes down me face and some sailor jus' put th' hilt 'o a cutlass in me hand. Here comes a Froggie an' he's so much taller than me, so much, an' I wonders if they're all that tall in France and why th' Froggie's movin' so slow 'cause don't he want t' kill us fast? But now he ain't movin' so slow an' he's right here so I figures I've gotta do somethin' for me country and I pushes me cutlass into him and _ it feels so bad why does it feel so bad?_ The Froggie looks at me all surprised an' then it's his full weight on me so I drops th' cutlass. I feels somethin' down on me chest so I looks an' _why is there so much blood?_ I looks at th' dead Froggie an' he ain't got no cutlass an' I looks back at me chest an' there it is, all shiny an' new 'cept it has blood on it. Now there are black dots swarmin' everywhere an' it's all black all blackness it's all black all night nothing light nothing more…


End file.
